Apple II serial cards
Encyclopedia
Apple II serial cards primarily used the serial
RS-232
protocol
. They most often were used for communicating with printers
, Modems, and less often for computer to computer data transfer. They could be programmed to interface with any number of external devices which were RS-232 compatible. Most serial cards had speed ranges starting from 110 bit/s up to 19,200 bit/s, however some could be modified to go much faster. The most popular and widely used of these cards was Apple Computer's Super Serial Card, a solid design that was often copied for maximum software compatibility of the end product.
. Released in 1978 for $225, it was designed to work with modems utilizing acoustic coupler
s. It offered speeds of 110 and 300 bit/s but with a simple hardware modification (described in the manual accompanying the card) one could change this to 300 and 1200 bit/s, or 1200 and 4800 bit/s.
revisions, P8 and P8A. The P8A ROM supported handshaking
while the earlier P8 rom didn't. Unfortunately the P8A ROM revision was not compatible with some printers that worked under the original P8 ROM.
was Super Serial Card compatible, however it eliminated the need for the use of a jumper block if the user wanted to switch between Printer mode or Modem mode. The Serial Pro, being a multifunction card, included a ProDOS
and DOS 3.3
compatible clock/calendar thus combining the capabilities of two cards into one, freeing up an extra slot for those with highly-populated machines. This card was unique in the sense that it did not use "Phantom Slots" to achieve this functionality. Previous multifunction cards required that a secondary function be "mapped" to a different slot in the computer's memory, rendering that slot unusable. If used with a dot-matrix printer, the Serial Pro offered several screen-print variations. It could print either HiRes page (or both in a single dump) normally, or print page one rotated or inverted. The Serial Pro utilized the MOS Technology 6551 ACIA chip
and offered serial baud rates from 50 bit/s to 19,200 bit/s. The lifespan of the clock battery was touted as 20 years. The card retailed for $139 during the late 1980s.
For more on the Serial Pro's clock capabilities, see its entry in Apple II system clocks
.
serial communications chip.
Serial communications
In telecommunication and computer science, serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel communication, where several bits are sent as a whole, on a link with several parallel channels...
RS-232
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 is the traditional name for a series of standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals connecting between a DTE and a DCE . It is commonly used in computer serial ports...
protocol
Communications protocol
A communications protocol is a system of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications...
. They most often were used for communicating with printers
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
, Modems, and less often for computer to computer data transfer. They could be programmed to interface with any number of external devices which were RS-232 compatible. Most serial cards had speed ranges starting from 110 bit/s up to 19,200 bit/s, however some could be modified to go much faster. The most popular and widely used of these cards was Apple Computer's Super Serial Card, a solid design that was often copied for maximum software compatibility of the end product.
Apple II Communications Card – Apple Computer
The Apple II Communications Card is the original serial card from Apple ComputerApple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
. Released in 1978 for $225, it was designed to work with modems utilizing acoustic coupler
Acoustic coupler
In telecommunications, the term acoustic coupler has the following meanings:# An interface device for coupling electrical signals by acoustical means—usually into and out of a telephone instrument....
s. It offered speeds of 110 and 300 bit/s but with a simple hardware modification (described in the manual accompanying the card) one could change this to 300 and 1200 bit/s, or 1200 and 4800 bit/s.
Apple II Serial Interface Card – Apple Computer
The Apple II Serial Interface Card was released by Apple Computer shortly after the Communications Card, in August, 1978. Designed for printing, this card had ROMRead-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
revisions, P8 and P8A. The P8A ROM supported handshaking
Handshaking
In information technology, telecommunications, and related fields, handshaking is an automated process of negotiation that dynamically sets parameters of a communications channel established between two entities before normal communication over the channel begins...
while the earlier P8 rom didn't. Unfortunately the P8A ROM revision was not compatible with some printers that worked under the original P8 ROM.
Serial Pro – Applied Engineering
The Serial Pro serial interface card from Applied EngineeringApplied Engineering
Applied Engineering, headquartered in Carrollton, TX, was a leading third-party hardware vendor for the Apple II series of computers from the early 1980s until the mid-1990s.-History:...
was Super Serial Card compatible, however it eliminated the need for the use of a jumper block if the user wanted to switch between Printer mode or Modem mode. The Serial Pro, being a multifunction card, included a ProDOS
ProDOS
ProDOS was the name of two similar operating systems for the Apple II series of personal computers. The original ProDOS, renamed ProDOS 8 in version 1.2, was the last official operating system usable by all Apple II series computers, and was distributed from 1983 to 1993...
and DOS 3.3
Apple DOS
Apple DOS refers to operating systems for the Apple II series of microcomputers from late 1978 through early 1983. Apple DOS had three major releases: DOS 3.1, DOS 3.2, and DOS 3.3; each one of these three releases was followed by a second, minor "bug-fix" release, but only in the case of Apple DOS...
compatible clock/calendar thus combining the capabilities of two cards into one, freeing up an extra slot for those with highly-populated machines. This card was unique in the sense that it did not use "Phantom Slots" to achieve this functionality. Previous multifunction cards required that a secondary function be "mapped" to a different slot in the computer's memory, rendering that slot unusable. If used with a dot-matrix printer, the Serial Pro offered several screen-print variations. It could print either HiRes page (or both in a single dump) normally, or print page one rotated or inverted. The Serial Pro utilized the MOS Technology 6551 ACIA chip
MOS Technology 6551
The 6551 Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology. It served as a companion UART chip for the widely popular 6502 microprocessor. Intended to implement RS-232, its specifications called for a maximum speed of 19,200 bits per second...
and offered serial baud rates from 50 bit/s to 19,200 bit/s. The lifespan of the clock battery was touted as 20 years. The card retailed for $139 during the late 1980s.
For more on the Serial Pro's clock capabilities, see its entry in Apple II system clocks
Apple II system clocks
Apple II system clocks, also known as real-time clocks, were commodities in the early days of computing. A clock/calendar did not become standard in the Apple II line of computers until 1987 with the introduction of the Apple IIGS...
.
Super Serial Card – Apple Computer
Apple Computer's Super Serial Card, sometime abbreviated as "SSC", is the most well known of communication cards made for the Apple II. Apple called it "Super" because it was able to function as both of Apple's previous cards, the Apple II Communications Card for modem use and the Apple II Serial Interface Card for printer use. A jumper block was used to configure the card for each of the two modes. Naturally Apple upgraded the speed capabilities of the card to a maximum of 19,200 bit/s and made the card compatible with both ROM revisions of the Apple II Serial Interface Card. The card can actually run at 115,200 bit/s as well, using undocumented register settings; but speeds between 19,200 and 115,200 are not possible using this technique. The Super Serial Card was released in 1981 and utilizes the MOS Technology 6551MOS Technology 6551
The 6551 Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology. It served as a companion UART chip for the widely popular 6502 microprocessor. Intended to implement RS-232, its specifications called for a maximum speed of 19,200 bits per second...
serial communications chip.
Other Serial Cards
Use this article for: Apple II multi I/O cards- Apricorn Serial Interface – Apricorn
- Super Serial Imager – Apricorn
- 7710 Serial Interface – California Computer Systems
- 7711 Super Serial Interface – California Computer Systems
- Serial Interface DK 244 – Digitek International Ltd
- SV-622 Serial Interface – Microtek
- SeriALL – Practical Peripherals
- Multicore – Quadram
- Super-COMM – Sequential Systems – SSC compatible, built in term program in ROM, supported grappler screen dumps and graphics
- AIO Interface – SSM or Transend
- ASIO Interface – SSM or Transend
- Alphabits – Street Electronics
- Super Serial Board – MC Price Breakers – Generic Super Serial Card clone